Ross Hawkins - June 2012 Entries

June 2012 Entries

2 small random but useful tips for web developers

Did you know about protocol relative hyperlinks? Seems they’ve been around for a long time, and I’d certainly never seen them used before. Incredibly easy to make sure users never see any mixed content warnings. I seriously can’t believe I’d not heard of this sooner – is it news to anyone else? Make a div into a link – this is something I’ve needed to do a few times, often when a designer has delivered a design that includes a top div as a logo area using an image as a background where it just feels natural to want...

posted @ Thursday, June 21, 2012 11:13 PM | Feedback (0)

PhotoSynth is now available for Windows Phone

Like many others, I find it a little ironic that Microsoft PhotoSynth has only become available for Windows Phones in the past couple of weeks. Still, it’s a cool app, so go grab it if you have a Windows Phone – although note that it functions best with devices that have a gyroscope.

posted @ Sunday, June 17, 2012 2:22 PM | Feedback (0)

Umbraco v5 R.I.P

Umbraco v5 RIP is the first time in a while (or possibly ever) where I’ve read about a piece of software going “backwards”. 5 has become an overly complex system that has turned into the very monster Umbraco was originally created as a reaction against. The community was not involved in its development, with one of the results being a highly complex set of code which also means the community will never HAVE the option of being involved with its development. This goes against everything Umbraco stands for. Within the community there was a great...

posted @ Thursday, June 14, 2012 11:58 PM | Feedback (0)

The terror that is the Domainz NZ website

Domainz (unsurprisingly) provide services around Domain name registration and renewals here in NZ. I have nothing against Domainz, other than the fact that they sell themselves as “The Kiwi Webexperts”. I personally don’t use Domainz for any of the hundreds of domains I own, however some of my customers have, so I’m often forced to use their customer portal. There’s 2 main issues I have: The customer portal doesn’t actually allow you to do anything useful When ‘managing’ a domain, there’s basically 2 options. “Redirect to an Existing Website” where you can enter a single IP...

posted @ Friday, June 01, 2012 12:03 PM | Feedback (3)

About me

My name is Ross Hawkins and I'm a developer, consultant, business owner and writer based in Auckland, New Zealand (pictured below!). My current work revolves around ASP.NET, C#, jQuery, Ajax, SQL Server, and a mix of other Microsoft development technologies.

I also have about 15 years of experience with IBM Lotus Notes/Domino and associated technologies. While Notes/Domino is no longer my primary focus I still like to dabble and keep my skills up to date.

I own and run 2 businesses - Hawkins Consulting Services, and Ignition Development.

Follow @rosshawkins

Bethells Beach, located in sunny West Auckland, New Zealand

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